06/13/2008
Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy Romance in Focus
Chris & Don: A Love Story, the documentary about the 35-year relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy, has been given a write-up in the New York Times today:
"Defying social conventions of the 1950s and ’60s, the two men navigated Hollywood society as an openly gay couple, withstanding the slings and arrows of homophobes like the actor Joseph Cotten, who during a dinner party at David O. Selznick’s house made loud, derisive remarks about 'half-men.' Navigation was made all the more treacherous by the 30-year age difference between the two, who met on a Santa Monica beach and became lovers when Mr. Bachardy was 18, but looked several years younger. They spent what passed for a honeymoon in Monument Valley, where the director John Ford, who was shooting a western, and his crew assumed they were father and son. Mr. Bachardy, now 74, recalls a traumatic experience that sealed their bond: a trip to Morocco to visit the author Paul Bowles during which Mr. Bachardy consumed hashish for the first time. He and Isherwood experienced a blind terror during which, afraid to let go, they clung to each other all night in their hotel room."
Check out the trailer for Chris & Don: A Love Story, AFTER THE JUMP. It opens today in Manhattan.
Posted 10:25 AM EST by Andy Towle in Christopher Isherwood, Don Bachardy, Film, News | Permalink
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I missed this at the Seattle International Film Festival a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I'd missed my chance. Good to see it'll be back in August... Isherwood was the reason I became and English major, and the reason why I felt no shame among a hyper-religious family.
Anyone heard anything about "A Single Man" movie that was rumored on here a while ago?
Posted by: Tyler | Jun 13, 2008 10:44:56 AM
Looks fab, can't wait to see it.
Posted by: davefromtampa | Jun 13, 2008 10:45:05 AM
that's great - i'll have to go see it this weekend, i deserve a good cry.
which theatre is it at?
Posted by: clayton | Jun 13, 2008 10:51:34 AM
I'm really looking forward to seeing this with my man. We've been together 19 years and he's 26 years older than me.
It's a bummer to know Joseph Cotten was such a homophobe. I thought he was a terrific actor.
Posted by: John in Manhattan | Jun 13, 2008 10:52:43 AM
Not long after I moved to L.A. I discovered a friend of mine knew Don Bachardy and suggested I go and pose for him. It took me a while to get up the courage since he's sort of living legend. Fortunately he's a very sweet guy and a dedicated and serious artist. I expect his fame will grow exponentially not only after this film is widely screened but also after a particular series of portraits he's currently working on come to light.
I posted my Don Bachardy connection on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=72304760%40N00&q=don+bachardy&m=text
Posted by: Scott | Jun 13, 2008 11:08:07 AM
Oh no about Joseph Cotten. He was in several favorite movies including Citizen Kane, Magnificent Ambersons and the Third Man. Orson Welles, his frequent collaborator, was rumored to be bisexual. The character of Jedidiah in Citizen Kane is supposedly gay. Maybe Cotten was unaware of his colleague's alleged leanings? He passed away in 1994, by which time I hope gay liberation had altered his views.
Posted by: Progression | Jun 13, 2008 11:14:54 AM
The movies are so powerful. Everytime I hear the name Christopher Isherwood, I see Michael York's face.
Isherwood was certainly an important figure in modern gay history. I'm always ranting that only gender-bending gays (queens) were "openly gay" before the 1970s; well, people like Isherwood prove me wrong. There were mainstream, masculine gay men who were brave enough to be out of the closet before Stonewall--Christopher Isherwood was....but there weren't many others.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Jun 13, 2008 11:19:17 AM
Yeah, that's a pain to hear about Cotten, he should have known better being in a profession full of gay people on both sides of the camera.
I've never read anything about Orson Welles being bi (although that doesn't mean he wasn't) but he got his first break in theatre from Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards, a pair of gay impresarios who ran the Gate Theatre in Dublin. The pair were very open and flamboyant (known locally as Sodom and Begorrah) and I'm sure they must have at least made a pass at young Orson. Welles later cast MacLiammóir as Iago in his film of Othello.
Posted by: John C | Jun 13, 2008 11:54:22 AM
John C., I could be wrong but I seem to recall reading or hearing something by Peter Bogdanovich that suggested OW might have been bisexual (maybe in commentary on the Lady From Shanghai DVD?). However, I read and listen to so much stuff that maybe I got some things mixed up, and my interest in Welles is as a director, not gay icon or anything.
Posted by: Progression | Jun 13, 2008 12:31:54 PM
That's interesting, Bogdanovich would have known if anyone did seeing as they were so close. I'd guess that Simon Callow's Welles biographies would be the place to look; being a gay actor he'd be curious at least. To date I've only read the Barbara Leaming official biog.
Posted by: John C | Jun 13, 2008 12:45:43 PM
Here's an interestingly different take on Mr Isherwood that I came across:
Part One: http://worldclassstupid.blogspot.com/2008/06/no-guru-no-disciple-part-one.html
Part Two: http://worldclassstupid.blogspot.com/2008/06/no-guru-no-disciple-part-two.html
Posted by: David | Jun 13, 2008 1:09:36 PM
Thanks for the article, DAVID.
Isherwood was much older than Vidal, Baldwin, Ginsberg, Burroughs, and much much older than Rechy. Why would people today expect him to have been as "militant" as they were about the naturalness of homosexuality? He was openly gay but didn't really know how to write openly gay characters...well, it's ok. Langston Hughes was more a contemporary of Isherwood--he wrote about sexuality in the same way: sexual ambivalence rather than straight foward homosxuality. It was ok for back then.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Jun 13, 2008 1:46:13 PM
Well, I for one do not believe that we judge or begrudge our old homos for their eccentricies or inconsistencies. The articles are very interesting, but like many gay folks through the centuries, Isherwood in many ways used his religiousity to both empower himself and hide behind when the going got just too tough. That is not the same as insincerity, and his contribution to Vedanta and Hinduism in the West should never ever be underestimated or underappreciated. If Vedic religion--Hinduism or Buddhism either one--continues on its track to become a mainstream and major religious player in the West, and in a Western and not Eastern or Orientalist cultural context, Isherwood certainly will be remembered as an early pioneer.
Posted by: clint | Jun 13, 2008 8:09:56 PM
For those in the Bay Area, it's also playing on June 27th at the SF International LGBT Film Festival (Frameline 32).
More info:
http://www.frameline.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=1456&FID=42
Posted by: Eddie | Jun 13, 2008 8:35:40 PM
I caught this today.
It was just incredible.
RUN AND SEE IT!
I want Don Bachardy to be my neighbor. He seemed so cool.
Posted by: Alex | Jun 16, 2008 12:30:20 AM
"Art, like the Alamo, has to draw the line somewhere." --Gene Elder
San Antonio Texas
Posted by: Gene Elder | Jun 18, 2008 7:19:45 PM